Automatic air-pressure regulator for gas machines



A. L. CIHAK July 1, 1930.

AUTOMATIC AIR PRESSURE REGULATOR FOR GAS MACH NES Filed Feb. 23, 1928 eooaoaa Patented July 1, 1930 ANTHONY L. GIHAK, F WATERLOO, IOWA,

. AUTOMATIC AIR-PRESSURE REGULATOR/FOR GASM'AGI-IINES Application filed February 23, 1928. Serial No. 256,422.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic air-pressure regulators for gas machines, and the object of my improvement is to combine with the blower and air receiving bell device of a gas machine, a

motor for driving the blower and means intermediate the motor and said bell device operable by the latter automatically atopposite parts of its to and fro movements in starting or stopping the motor, in saving power at times when the bell device contains a supply of air under pressure and while the gas machine blower is not under an active draft upon its supply, or while under only a small demand for its supply.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which is a front elevation of a gas machine, including a carburetor, tank and bell air receiver, blower, motor adapted to actuate the blower, and my improved make and break means intermediate the motor and bell receiver arranged to be operated at times in initiating or interrupting the joint action of the motor and blower. I

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, nor to the various details thereof, as the same may be modified or rearranged in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, one practical embodiment of which has been herein illustrated and described without attempting to show all of the various forms and modifications in which my invention might be embodied.

:This invention is particularly related to gas machines which are contrived to manufacture an inflammable gas from a mixture of atmospheric air and the vapor of a fluid hydrocarbon, such as gasoline or the like, for dwelling or other purposes in heating, cooking or lighting the premises.

In-the drawing, are represented in coacting combination, a carbureter 49 whose interior is not shown, as any suitable or wellknown devices of this type may be used for the purpose stated. The numeral 4 denotes a blower, which also may be of any desired construction, and the interior construction of which is not shown, for a like reason, but

the blower shown is stationary and supported upon angle-bar standards 5, and adapted to contain a rotary fan device to constitute it a pressure device to receive air and deliver it by way of a depending pipe 7 and T-coupling 11 to a pipe 10 leading into the carburetor 49 and also to a pipe 8 with elbow coupl1ng connection to a rlser pipe 9.

This riser pipe 9 passes through and is sealed in the bottom of an open top water tank 1 which is supported upon legs as at 2 and platform connected to a table structure having legs 6 and positioned in front of said blower 4. The open upper end of the riser pipe 9 is situated a little below the open upper end of the tank 1 but above the upper level of the water therein, as indicated by the dotted lines. c

The numeral 3 denotes an invertedbell of cylindrical shape, whose, lower open part depends into the tank 1 and immersed in the water therein which thus provides a water seal for the bell. A ir forced through theriser pipe 9 into said bell will therefore buoy it up as far as its limit of upward movement.

The carbureter 49 may have a pump pipe I 50 and a vent pipe 51 also for filling, and a lateral and then upwardly directed mixed gas delivery pipe 52 which may leadto distributive burners not shown. Returning to. the blower drum or casing 4, and its central rotary shaft 13 for and carrying an interior fan wheel not shown, thenumeral l4 denotes a relatively large spur-gear meshed with a relatively small spur pinion 15, the gear 14 beingfixed on said shaft 13, while the pinion 15 is fixedly mounted upon a rotary shaft 16, and a wonn-wheell'? is fixed on the latter shaft and is in mesh with a worm thread 18 fixed on a worm-shaft 19 mounted rotatably in apertured bearings 20 in opposite side walls of a supporting boxing 21 secured upon the top of the table 6. The shaft 19 hasa detachable clutch connection at 22 with the rotor shaft ofv an electric motor 23 also mounted upon said table, this motor being in circuit with a generator 53 by means of conductors 24 and 26, a knife switch 25 and a make and break switch device 27 having a two-way contact acting finger 28 of a wellknown type.

The switch 27 is mounted upon a projecting plate 29 fixed on a bracket plate 32, which latter is fastened upon the side wall of the tank 1. The vertically disposed plate 29 is near its upper end notched at 34 to seat a rock-arm 31 with a T-hea'd 35 and pivoted at 33 to the plate 32. From the right hand end of the arm 31 projects a diminished finger which loosely traverses a transverse hole in the upper end of a linkbar 30, the lower end part of the link-bar being slotted to receive the end part of the switch finger 28 loosely. 'The oppositely directed cross parts or head 35 of the arm 31 have holes in which are respectively fixed the contact members 36 and 39, bent in a bowed shape upwardly and downwardly at opposite sides of the arm 31, andhaving their bowed parts crossing a vertically reciprocable rod 42 at opposite sides thereof. Upon the rod 42 and extending oppositely are pins 37 and 38 fixed therein which are positioned respectively at different vertical positions of said rod to engage with and shift rockingly in one direction the said bowed fingers 36 and '39. The numeral 45 denotes a horizontal angle-bar fixed upon the lower part of the tank 1 and is aperf tured to pass the lower endsof rods 47 and 48 secured thereto by nuts and whose upper ends are fixed in another horizontal anglebar 46 secured upon the upper part of the tank 1 above. The angle-bar 46 is also apertured to seat slidingly the upper parts oi'c' vertical rods 43 and 54 whose upper ends are passed through holes in a cross-bar 41 and secured by nuts thereto, the bar 41 being medially secured to a bar or projection 40 fixed upon the top of the bell 3;

It will be seen that the rods 42, 43 and 54 are supported upon the fixed rods 47 and 48 to slide up and down through the holes in the bar 46 vertically.

When the blower 4 is in operation, air is driven in opposite directions by way of the pipes 10, 8 and 9 respectively to the carbureter 49, and to the bell 3' as the pipe 9 extends above the water in the tank 1 into the bell 3 as indicated by the dotted lines. When the blower is not in operation, the compressedair under the hell 3 returns reversely through said pipes in continuing the supply of the carbureter 49. The bell then lowers until the finger 37 engages the bowed finger 39 which is rocked downwardly so that the arm 31 and link 30 moves finger 28 to close the circuit by means of the switch device 27. When the bell is returned upwardly by the operation of the blower thus occasioned and I the agency of the motor, the lower finger or pin 38 engages and rocks upwardly the bowed finger 36 to reverse the position of the switch finger 28 to open the circuit and stop the motor.

It will be seen that the motor is governed automatically by reason of the switch device 27 operated reversely by the contact-pins 37 and 38 because of the reverse movements of the bell 3 and at or near the respective opposite limits of the movements of said bell. This cutting out of the motor saves power which would be consumed by continuous operation, or renders it unnecessary to open theswitch25 in all cases where the motor is to be out out.

It is to be understood, thatpreferably and usually, a duplicate installation of the fixed guide rods 47 and 48, and the slide rods 43 and 54-are mounted on the rear side of the bell 3 and the tank 1, to serve to balance and steadily support the bell in its vertically reciprocatory movements.

Having-described my invention, -what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In combination, a tank and movable bell receiver therein to contain a fluid under pressure, a rotary blower in communication with said bell receiver operative to deliver fluid thereinto, an electric generator, an electrio motor, operating connections between said blower and motor including reducing gearing and a clutch device, an apertured bracket on the top of the outer wall of the tank,'a bracketon the top of the outer wall of the bell receiver, three parallel rods secured at their upper ends to the latter bracket and having an apertured cross-connection at their lower endsbelow said tank bracket, parallel rods having their upper ends secured to said tank bracket and havingtheir lower ends secured to the lower outer wall of the tank to serve as fixed guide rods thereon, and traversing apertures in said cross connection, a pair'of said three parallel rods traversing apertures in said tank bracket slidingly with the third of said rods connected at its lower end to said cross-connection, stop-pins spaced apart on said third rod to project from opposite sides thereof, a rook-arm pivotally mounted upon the tank and having angular furcations offset to project across opposite sides of said third rod in the paths of movement of said stop-pins respectively, said furcations having a reentrant angle between them permitting them to receive between them either stop-pin l0ckingly and releasably at either limit of movement of the third rod, a make-and-break device having operating connections tosaid rockarm, and an electric circuit including said generator, motor and said make-andbreak device. 7

In testimony whereof I afiix my si nature.

ANTHONY L. oIiiAK.

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